Little Witch
by Soul-of-Pure-Silver
Summary: Ivy and Rachel go out on a run, and, in the usual Rachel Morgan fashion, something happens. Except this time, the problem's a bit bigger than usual. Or shall we say smaller? As in, Rachel-gets-hit-with-a-demon-curse-and-is-turned-into-a-3-year-old smaller
1. Chapter 1

Ivy's eyes blinked open. The air was thick with dirt and dust, and she was forced to roll over as her body was wracked with coughs. Sitting up, she wiped her watering eyes and tried to rid her lungs of dust and smoke. Even with her vampire senses, she couldn't see more than 4 or 5 feet in front of her.

She closed her eyes and sighed, then her eyes flew open and she sprang to her feet in a panic, nearly tripping over herself. _Where's Rachel?_

"Ra-" she rasped, a cough cutting off the name. Breathing shallowly, she tried again. "Rachel?"

She spun around, trying to get her bearings. The witch they had been tracking had come from her left, and Rachel had been behind her... "Rachel?" she called louder, making her way in what she thought was the right direction. Her breathing became ragged, and her vision started to blur. _No, no, no, no. No. No! Come on, witch, where are you?_ She tried to push her rising panic down in favor of listening harder trying to hear something, anything.

Hearing a low groan from in front of her, her heart leapt even as she realized that it had been from a man, not Rachel. Stopping, she crouched down when she almost walked into the man sprawled against the wall.

His eyes were fluttering, and the bitter scent of burnt amber filled her senses. Narrowing her eyes, she slapped her hand across his face, none to gently. Maybe it was a tad too hard to be for the sole purpose of waking him up, but he had just blasted Rachel with something, and she didn't much care. Once she found Rachel, _alive_, she'd kill him herself.

"Hey," she said angrily, not letting her desperation leak into her voice. "Hey!"

His eyes opened, and he shook his head blearily at her, his gaze unfocused. "Who are you?" She shook him, but not hard enough to impair him farther, seeing as she needed him conscious. She clenched her teeth. "What did you do?" she ground out. "Where's Rachel?"

She saw his eyes clear and lock onto her pitch black ones. He tensed, his fear hitting her, and she felt herself beginning to pull an aura. "Where. Is. Rachel." she growled.

The man was shaking, and she was about to hit him again – harder – when she heard a rustling coming off from her right. She snapped to her feet and let the witch thump back down. She followed the sound, knowing that her motions were edging on vampire quickness. Though she tried, she couldn't bring herself back to the state where she could slow down. It was getting harder to suppress the panic, and she had to stop herself from vamping out completely, or else she wouldn't be able to help Rachel when she found her.

_Rachel. You had better be okay. Please, dear heart. Please be okay._

In the distance she heard sirens approaching. She hoped that it was Edden with the FIB, and not the IS. They would probably try to arrest them for something like destruction of property.

"Rachel!" she called out again, desperation shining on her face. "Where are you!" She had reached a wall, and reaching out to touch it, she saw that the plaster was cracked in a vaguely Rachel-shaped dent. Wincing, she looked around.

She stilled when she heard a tiny cry, then jumped when she felt something pat against her shin. Jerking away, she looked down, eyes widening when she realised what she was looking at. It was a small child, maybe 2 or 3 years old. The girl had flaming red hair, and wide green eyes, and was looking at Ivy with _something_ in her gaze.

Ivy cautiously lowered herself down. _No way._ The child's eyes were watering, and Ivy imagined that if she was having trouble breathing in the dust-laden air, then it must be next to impossible for this tiny little girl. She had a slightly dazed expression on her face, looking around like she was trying to figure out where she was.

"Rachel?" she whispered hesitantly, holding her hand out to the girl. Her mind was having trouble accepting what she was seeing, but it had to be her. The little girl was wearing Rachel's working leathers, shrunken down with her so they still fit, making it look like an adorable pre-Turn Halloween costume. The child whimpered and fell into her arms, and Ivy stood up, bringing her up to where the air was clearer, as the dust was starting to settle around her feet. Wrapping the girl firmly in her arms, she leaned back so she could look in her eyes.

"Rachel? Is that- well, is that you?" Ivy searched her eyes. The girl was gripping the front of her shirt with tiny fists and taking shallow breaths. She murmured something, one hand scrubbing at her face.

"Ivy... wha...you...happ-n..."

"What?" Ivy leaned her head closer. "Vee..."

Ivy breathed in. That was her name, or it could be if you were a toddler who had just been blasted. It _was_ Rachel.

She felt the air whoosh out of her lungs, and she almost cried in relief. Rachel was alive. Maybe not okay, since she looked about 3, but alive. Ivy could work with alive. Dead, she couldn't do. She wouldn't let herself think about what would happen to her if Rachel was dead.

What kind of spell was this anyways? Her guess was it was demon magic, that would be why the smell of the ever-after was there. Not to mention that she was pretty sure that there was no spell to turn someone into a child. She's never even heard of a rumor of one. If it were anybody else, she would probably be having a mini internal freak out about how it had happened, but since it was Rachel, she just accepted it. Whatever had caused this, she'd figure it out later.

Rachel squinted at her, before burying her head into her neck. "Okay," Ivy breathed, holding her hand protectively over her. She felt her heartbeat finally start to settle back to normal, and she blinked away the tears that had sprung into her eyes. _She's fine. She's alive._

She looked around, only now remembering that they would need a way out. Carrying Rachel, she picked her way over to the hole that fool witch had blasted and peeked her head around the wall. _Aw, crap._ It was the IS._ Okay. Different way out._ Spinning, she spotted a door nestled behind a stack of crates. Moving quickly towards it, she tried to rid herself of the remaining panic that had built up inside of her. She took a couple of deep breaths, trying to let the fear and desperation spill out of her, with limited success. It wasn't perfect, but her control on her emotions would return soon. It was just as well that there was no one here to see her like this. She had to get her mask back in place first.

Reaching the door, she pushed at the bar, finding it locked. Looking behind her, she saw that she had no time to pick the lock.

Tightening her hold on Rachel, she spun and kicked the door open, making sure to only use the muscles in her lower body as to not hurt the child in her arms. The door banged open at the force of her foot, the hinges protesting but remaining attached to the door frame. Rachel had tensed at the bang, and Ivy realized that she had been unconsciously running her finger through the girl's hair, trying to calm her.

"C'mon Rachel," she whispered, "Let's get out of here." She stepped out into the fresh air, squinting when the light hit her eyes. Rachel was trying to twist in her arms, so Ivy shifted her so she was holding the girl against her hip with one arm. Rachel coughed a few times, and Ivy felt her spirits lift as she began to walk towards Rachel's car, which they had parked a couple streets down to avoid being recognized. They were both alive, no serious injuries, and no one had gotten arrested today. Not too bad a day. Aside from the whole Rachel-turned-into-a-child thing.

She shifted Rachel, finding the foreign weight of a tiny body surprisingly relaxing, her arms curving around the girl more naturally then she would have guessed possible. Ivy didn't exactly get around to carrying too many 3 year olds.

Luckily she had swiped the car keys from Rachel when the witch almost forgot them on the seat. Otherwise, who knows what would have happened to them, she thought, peering again at Rachel's shrunken clothes. Even the straps on her boots were tiny to fit little 3 year old feet.

Looking Rachel over in the sunlight, she saw that she had dust covering her hair, and dirt streaked all over her face. Ivy knew that she was probably in a similar state. She tried brushing some of the dirt off of her clothes and Rachel's, but it had no effect. She sighed, mentally promising she'd clean the seats of the car for her after.

Unlocking the door, she realized she had a problem. Rachel, who apparently had always been small for her age, could not safely be strapped in with a seat belt. Ivy was well aware of the consequences, and knew there was a reason why small children used car seats. She couldn't strap Rachel in with a seat belt, and it wasn't like the witch kept a spare car seat in the back in case one of them was turned into a 3-year-old.

So that left tossing her into the trunk, or holding her on her lap while she drove. Ivy looked at Rachel, who was smiling happily and playing with Ivy's hair, the expression on her face making it look like some very intriguing puzzle. The girl was completely oblivious to the problem at hand. Must be fun to be a child, she thought wistfully.

She blew out a breath, thinking _please don't let anyone see us_. Leaned over, she placed Rachel down in the passenger seat. Rachel made a questioning noise, and when Ivy slid into the driver's seat and shut the door, Rachel clambered over the center console and onto Ivy, grabbing her fingers when she extended her hand. Ivy smiled softly at her, wiggling her caught fingers, and the girl giggled. She put her seat belt on, then positioned Rachel so that the child's back was against her front, wrapping her left arm securely around her waist.

The girl snuggled back, amusing herself by playing with Ivy's fingers again. "Okay Rachel, I'm going to drive, and you can't move too much, okay?" Rachel turned her head calmly and gave her a look, then went back to her fingers.

"I hope that was a yes," Ivy muttered as she shifted the car into drive and pulled onto the street, for the first time in her life not going past 50 even though the street was deserted.

Within ten minutes, Rachel had curled up against Ivy and fallen asleep. And Ivy was bored. So very, very bored.

She had decided to stick to the back roads, not the main ones, and she was driving _so slowly_. She had always loved getting into some kind of vehicle and just gunning it, feeling the power of the engine. Never had she driven this slowly, even when Rachel had been in the car before. But she was smaller now, and her body was weaker, not to mention the only thing holding her in the car was Ivy's arm. And she knew the possible consequences of a car crash, and the faster you went, the risk increased exponentially.

But Ivy knew that if something did happen, her vampire reflexes would almost certainly be able to protect her. Who needed this? _50 km/h_. She scoffed inwardly. _Nobody_ drove this slowly.

Then Rachel shifted in her lap.

She slowed to 25.

Finally reaching the church, she parked and shut off the car. Taking care not to wake Rachel, she held her breath and unbuckled her seat belt, trying to slowly slide it out from between them. Rachel stirred, and she winced.

"Sorry Rachel," she whispered.

Rachel looked up at her sleepily and yawned. "Ivy," she mumbled, snuggling down again. "Tired." Ivy smiled. Rachel was most possibly the most adorable kid she had ever seen. Opening the door, she tried to nudge Rachel into motion.

"We have to go inside, Rachel." When Rachel ignored her, Ivy chuckled. "Come on, up we go!" She swung Rachel up so she was resting against her shoulder, and Rachel shrieked happily. Ivy started laughing with her, and still giggling, Rachel wrapped her arms around her neck and buried her head in Ivy's hair.

Ivy locked the car and made her way up the walk. "Ooh!" Rachel exclaimed, and Ivy looked at the child reaching to grab something she couldn't see. "Buherfy!"

Glancing behind her, Ivy saw a blue butterfly flitting through the shrubs. Sparing a thought for the pixies, she bent and put Rachel down, making sure she was steady on her feet. Any pixy could fly out of her reach in a heartbeat. They'd be fine.

She watched as the child ran after the butterfly, surprisingly fast on her feet. Ivy crossed her arms and watched Rachel jump for it, practically running in circles as the butterfly kept changing directions.

Rachel made a sound of disappointment when she realized that the butterfly was flying too high for her height to reach. Then she brightened and ran to Ivy. "Up!" she exclaimed, holding her arms up at her. "Up, Ivy! Wanna go up!"

Ivy stifled a smile and bent to pick her up. When Ivy was holding her against her hip, Rachel tugged on her shirt and pointed at the butterfly. Obligingly, Ivy walked towards it, making sure not to drop Rachel when she tried to jump out of her arms, apparently believing now that she was high enough, she'd be able to fly.

Rachel made another grab for it, and when it flew away from her again, her face fell. "Aww," she stuck out her bottom lip and her eyes scrunched together. "Buherfy," she said sadly, looking like she was one step away from crying. Ivy smoothed her hair back.

"Hey Rachel, you want to see the butterfly?" The girl nodded excitedly.

"Uh huh. Yes, yes! It goes away though..." Ivy smiled.

"I'll help you, okay? You're bigger than it, it's probably just scared of you."

"But I's not scary…"

"I know, but you have to show the butterfly that. You just have to be really quiet, and not move fast, got it?" Rachel moved her head up and down with exaggerated slowness, green eyes serious. Ivy swallowed her laugh and nodded back just as solemnly.

The butterfly was flitting around the steps, and Ivy moved towards it. Rachel was almost completely motionless, which was a surprise. Ivy's lips quirked up. Rachel Morgan, fearless witch and kick-ass runner, was enthralled by a butterfly. Nearing it, she slowly extended her hand to the object of the child's attention. The butterfly flew around it before finally deciding it was worth landing on.

Rachel's green eyes tracked its flight, and let out a gasp of wonder. She held it in front of her face, watching the awe grow. The butterfly fluttered its wings but didn't take off, and Rachel released a sound of amazement, wonder in her eyes. Rachel lifted her hand, and the butterfly took off Ivy's finger. Ivy waited for disappointment to fill Rachel's eyes, but the girl merely leaned back into Ivy, wiggling her fingers after the butterfly.

"Bye-bye," she whispered. "Bye-bye buherfy." Ivy's lips twitched again, and she finally let the smile split across her face. You couldn't not smile at this girl. Rachel took notice and leaned up to touch her face with a tiny hand, a strangely satisfied look on her face.

"Good," she murmured, "Good, Ivy. Stay like dis, pease." Ivy blinked, feeling her heart clench happily, and just had to hug her. Rachel made a happy noise and pressed her face into Ivy's neck. Ivy felt a surge of relief that Rachel was too young to trigger her vampire instincts. She couldn't do it if she tried.

Ivy was relatively sure that her vamp powers wouldn't hurt her accidentally, and she sure as hell wasn't about to hurt her on purpose. She blinked as a thought struck her. What about Rachel's magic? She looked at the child speculatively. She didn't know much about young witches, or if Rachel even remembered how to use ley lines. She was safe from any earth magic mishaps, at least. She'd have to look it up.

Rachel was still watching her, her wise green eyes reflecting a wisdom beyond what her body would suggest.

Deciding it was time they were inside, she pulled the door open and stepped in, letting it fall shut behind them. "Jenks?" she called, not hearing any pixies.

Still holding Rachel, she kicked off her boots and padded to the kitchen. She then realized it was quiet and empty because it was just after twelve, and the pixies were all still asleep. Her and Rachel really had been up early for this run.

Rachel seemed content with being held by Ivy in the middle of their kitchen, but Ivy knew they had to start figuring things out. For example, what the heck had happened to her.

They would probably need Ceri's help, since it was a demon curse, but she was also asleep, elves taking naps around noon just like pixies. It didn't seem like Rachel was in any immediate danger, so another hour or two wouldn't hurt. She didn't want to deal with a grumpy, sleep-deprived Ceri. That woman could be scary. And she'd need to get Rachel cleaned up too. _I'll do it now, I guess._

"Come on Rachel," she said, hoisting her up higher and hoping that she wasn't one of the children who were fussy about everything. "Bath time!" she tried injecting a note of enthusiasm in her voice, but she wasn't sure how well she succeeded. Instantly, a wide grin split across the child's face.

* * *

><p>40 minutes later found Ivy wearily carrying a giggling, towel-wrapped Rachel from the bathroom. It turns out Rachel was one of those crazy enthusiastic kids who did everything except what they were supposed to.<p>

Ivy had given Rachel a bath in her bathroom because Rachel's didn't have a bathtub, and now she had shampoo on the ceiling.

She had opted to stay in her working leathers, since she was filthy and would have to wash whatever she put on anyways.

And now she was soaked, her hair dripping in her eyes. Rachel had the unfortunate ability to fling water with amazing accuracy.

Ivy eyed the happy child in her arms. She had tried to give her a bath, after establishing that she couldn't do it herself. Rachel hadn't wanted to go into the tub, and after trying and failing to reason with her for almost ten minutes, Ivy had simply picked her up and plopped her in. this had led to shrieking, until Rachel realized that she like the water.

She had nearly given Ivy a heart attack when she turned around for a second to get some soap, and then turned back to find Rachel had ducked under the water without popping back up. In panic, she had lunged for the red blur under the water, and in response she got a face full of water, Rachel laughing and clapping her hands.

She heaved a mental sigh of relief, wiping her eyes and glaring at the girl, not really finding it in herself to be angry. "Nice, Rachel." But after that point, she made sure to keep an eye on her at all times.

Looking back down at the girl in her arms, she felt her heart melting just a little bit more. God, if this kept up, Rachel would completely own her heart by the end of the day. More completely than she already did, anyways. Oh, who was she kidding? This child…woman…this _Rachel_ already owned her heart.

Rachel's eyes had started drooping, and while she was valiantly trying to keep them open, it was clear she was about to fall asleep. She had snuggled deeper into Ivy's arms and the big fluffy towel, and Ivy had to suppress the urge to start cooing. She was Ivy Tamwood. She didn't _coo_.

Stepping into Rachel's room, she flicked on the lights and walked to Rachel's closet, planning on finding something that wasn't big enough to smother a 3 year old.

Shifting so she was holding Rachel with one arm, she opened the door and pushed aside the hangers. She knew that Rachel just threw the clothes she wouldn't wear into a heap at the back of the closet, and she also knew that the witch had accidentally shrunk more that one piece of clothing in the wash.

Ivy pulled the pile to the front and rummaged through it, picking up a green t-shirt with some kind of sports logo on it that was at least 4 sizes smaller than it was supposed to be. She eyed it critically before deciding that it would be fine for her to wear. She'd need to get Rachel some actual kid-sized clothes, unless Ceri knew the solution and could change her back right away.

She nudged the door closed with her foot and walked over to Rachel's bed, leaning over to place her down. Rachel uncurled herself for a moment, before making a noise of protest and latching herself back around Ivy's arm.

"Come on, Rachel," she said, halfheartedly trying to pry her off. Rachel conceded to holding onto Ivy's hand instead of wrapped around her entire arm.

"Ivy," she moaned, "Sleep. 'M tired, wanna sleep!"

"Okay Rachel, let's just get you changed first. Then you can sleep, okay?" Ivy said gently, running her fingers slowly through the girl's hair. Ivy realized that now that Rachel was a little kid, she would need naps like any other 2/3 year old. She still wasn't sure how old the witch was.

She slipped the shirt over the girl's head, seeing it fall well past her knees. _That'll do._ She rumpled her hair with the towel again, drying it a bit more before tossing it to the floor by the door.

Standing, she looked at Rachel, and this time she didn't even bother trying to hide her smile. There was no one here to see anyways.

The girl had burrowed into the covers and was more asleep then awake. Ivy watched her for a moment before mentally shaking herself. She still needed to wash herself, and now seemed as good a time as any she'd take a shower, and be out before Rachel woke up.

But she hesitated to leave Rachel on the bed, where she could roll off and hurt herself. She remembered for Erica they had used these baby walls to surround the bed, but Rachel didn't have any baby blockers.

She thought for a moment, before moving to grab Rachel's pillows and placing them on the floor. She went to her room and got took her pillows as well, going back and putting them with Rachel's.

She arranged them a bit, then placed the sleeping baby in the middle. She leaned back eying the makeshift baby bed she had made. Since Rachel was lying on and surrounded by pillows on the floor, there was nowhere for her to roll.

Satisfied, Ivy stood up. She went to grab a fresh change of clothes, then hurried into Rachel's bathroom for her shower.


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: This takes place sometime after **_**For A Few Demons More**_**, around there.**

** Also, if anyone was wondering, I don't own the Hollows series or anything related to it, not even a little bit. It belongs to Kim Harrison.**

Ten minutes later, she emerged from the bathroom, hair still damp, skin freshly scrubbed of all the dirt. She padded over to Rachel in her stocking feet, kneeling down to see that she had indeed rolled into the pillow barrier and was hugging one of Ivy's pillows like a teddy bear, half on top of it.

Ivy slowly bent and picked her up, pausing when she stood as Rachel rearranged herself in her arms, shifting around in her sleep with the pillow she had not let go of. Ivy smiled softly at her mumbling, then started moving towards the sanctuary.

She was so mesmerized by Rachel's peaceful face that she jerked and almost let out a yelp when a blur of light streaked in front of her face.

"Sweet mother of Tink, woman! Why are you holding a kid? Last time I checked, _that_ took 9 months!"

Ivy gave him a withering glare for startling her, unsure of how to begin explaining what had happened while he had been asleep.

His surprised yelling stopped and gave way to subdued shock as he started to fit the pieces together. "You know what," he said slowly, "that kid looks a whole lot like Rachel…"

His wings slowed a bit, and Jenks drifted closer to the girl lying in her arms. He peered at her face, then looked up at Ivy. "Where is Rache, Ivy?"

"Umm…" Ivy shifted her feet, realizing she had unconsciously been rocking Rachel back and forth in her arms. "She's right here," holding her up to Jenks.

Jenks blinked at her, wings flapping unevenly as he forgot to flap them, dipping and rising in the air. "What?" he asked faintly. "How…"

Ivy stepped forwards and extended her elbow for him to land on, since she didn't want to let go of Rachel. He gratefully dropped on to it and clambered up to her shoulder before he fell out of the air.

Ivy hid a tiny smile when she heard him mumbling to himself. "-Take a three hour nap and one of those stupid lunkers gets herself turned into a freaking _baby_-"

She walked into the sanctuary, and felt him grab onto her ear. "I don't know how it happened," she told him, cutting into his grumbling. "The witch we were tracking hit her with something. The I.S. have him now. Could you go see if Ceri's awake? We should ask her for her opinion. I think it was some sort of demon curse."

"Yeah, yeah, I'll get her. She better be able to save Rachel's sorry ass, because I am not raising another kid. Especially a witch. Do you know how much trouble they can be? Wait, scratch that, especially _Rachel_. She better not remember how to do ley line spells, because if she does…"

Ivy grinned at him as he lifted off her shoulder, back to grumbling as he flew out. "Don't wake her up if she's still asleep, just tell Keasley to send her over when she wakes up."

Jenks waved his hand at her. "-And Rachel is not well-behaved, I mean, she got into enough trouble when she was grown up! Probably going to try and dress me up like a freaking doll. Human-sized kids are trouble. If she crushes my wings, I will pix her until next week. Stupid lunkers crawling everywhere, touching everything, breaking things. At least when they can talk properly they have a little respect for us and don't try to _eat_ us. Tink's titties, the last time that kid thought that I…" His voice faded as he flew out a pixy hole and across the street.

Ivy sighed when the silence reappeared. She looked down to see tired green eyes blinking at her. Jenks had woken her up with his chattering.

"Hey you," she said softly, smoothing her hair away from her face. "Sorry he woke you up. Are you still tired?" Rachel nodded, rubbing her eyes. Ivy examined the girl's wrist, noting that her demon mark was still there. "Well, why don't you go back to sleep. We're just waiting for Ceri, I don't know when she'll be over." She walked over to the couch as she spoke, leaning to place Rachel on the cushions.

As Rachel felt Ivy's arms leaving her, she let out a sound and reached for her again. Ivy stopped withdrawing and looked at her questioningly, letting her grasp her hand.

Rachel struggled to sit up, letting go of Ivy's pillow and rubbing her eyes. "Don' go, Ivy. Pease stay." Ivy took a moment to decide, then nodded. A happy grin spread on Rachel's face. "Yay," she mumbled contently, watching as Ivy stretched out on the couch.

She clambered onto her and settled herself on Ivy's chest, snuggling up against her and tucking her face into the crook of her neck. "Don' ever go, 'kay Ivy?" Ivy shifted a bit, wrapping an arm around the child's waist and listening to the mumbling. "Always stay. You can't go. Not ever. Don' weave me. 'Kay Ivy?"

"Okay Rachel," Ivy answered absentmindedly, rubbing her back. "Go to sleep."

"No." Rachel struggled to sit up, eyeing Ivy fiercely. "No! You can't Ivy! You can't go away!" She sniffled, and Ivy realized the girl had tears in her eyes. _What? How had that happened so fast? What did I do?_ Ivy panicked. She sat up, catching Rachel as she slid into her lap. Rachel peered up at her, eyes glistening, and Ivy's face softened.

"Pease don' go away. Pease don' leave me." Rachel clutched the front of her shirt. Ivy stroked her hair calmingly.

"I won't leave you Rachel."

The girl's mouth quivered. "You pwomise?"

"I promise." Rachel's eyes wavered, and Ivy hugged her tightly, stroking her hair. "I'll never leave you."

She felt Rachel tuck her head into her neck and inhale her scent, her body instantly relaxing. Ivy had always known that her scent calmed Rachel, she'd have to be stupid to miss it, but it seemed that now that Rachel was a child, it had an even greater effect on her. Or maybe Rachel was just letting it have a greater effect on her. The feeling that she could calm Rachel down just by being there made her ridiculously happy, at the same time as giving her a strange sense of pride.

Rachel's sniffling had stopped, and Ivy lay back down, Rachel snuggling back into her. After a few minutes Rachel's breathing evened out, the tiny breaths warm against her neck telling her she had fallen asleep. Once Ivy made sure the child was secure, she let herself relax into the couch. It was strangely comforting to have her light weight lying on her, and her eyes slipped shut.

The next thing she knew, something was prodding her nose. Her eyes cracked open, just to slam shut when she saw Jenks hovering in front of her face, the light coming off of him assaulting her eyes.

"Aw," Jenks cooed, "The big bad vampire took a nap with the widdle baby," his voice taking on the gooey tone people tend to use when talking to babies or really cute puppies. Ivy scowled, lifting her hand to swat at him. Cackling, he flew out of her easy reach and landed on the back of the couch. Rachel was still lying on her, sleeping peacefully, and Ivy hesitated to move, not wanting to wake her up.

"Did you get Ceri?" she asked, her voice a bit hoarse from sleep. He snorted at her.

"Your little nap took at least half an hour. I don't take that long to deliver a message. She'll be here in about ten minutes. I thought you might want to be awake for that."

Ivy sighed, rubbing a hand over her face. "Thanks Jenks." Her ears picked up the sudden clatter of pixy wings, and she winced when his kids burst into the room, all shrieking at the tops of their lungs.

Rachel awoke with a start, letting out a small cry and shrinking back into Ivy, trying to hide her head. Ivy raised her voice. "Jenks, get your kids to pipe down!" He rose into the air and emitted a piercing whistle that hurt her ears, causing all the pixy children to scatter, disappearing to the ceiling and out doors and windows.

Rachel was quivering with her hands clenched over her ears. Ivy sat up and lifted her into her lap, holding her close and rocking her back and forth.

"It's okay Rachel," she whispered into her hair, "It was just Jenks' kids." Rachel nodded, once again tucked into the crook of Ivy's neck.

Jenks was hovering around her head worriedly, unsure of what he was supposed to do now that this toddler who was supposed to be his partner was awake.

A few moments later, when she heard the girl's heart rate settle back down, Ivy pulled back and looked at her, resting against her chest. When Rachel saw her face, a smile split across hers.

"Ivy," she said, reaching out to touch her cheek. Ivy smiled back at her.

"Hey," she greeted her softly, wrapping an arm around her waist. "Sorry about that. You okay?" Rachel nodded her head, a slightly puzzled look on her face.

"They were loud." Ivy nodded in agreement.

"Hey Rachel, look who it is," she said, turning her around so she could see Jenks.

"Hiya, Rache," he said nervously, flying closer to her.

"Jents!" she exclaimed, clearly happy to see him. Ivy nodded again, glad that she did remember him. It was looking like Rachel really did remember everything.

She was taken out of her thoughts by Jenks shouting. "Yo Rache, keep away from the wings!" Rachel meekly withdrew her hands.

"Sowwy."

Jenks hovered in place, a bit sorry that he had snapped at her. Rachel looked at him with apologetic eyes, then hesitantly extended her hand towards him, palm up. He cautiously landed on it, and her face broke into a grin, once again completely forgetting the disappointment from the moment before.

She turned to Ivy, eagerly holding her hand out, almost toppling Jenks over when she moved too fast. "Look Ivy! 'S a pixy!"

"Yeah Rachel," Ivy answered, biting the inside of her cheek to contain her laughter. "He's a pretty pixy, isn't he." Ivy's eyes were shining with silent laughter, and Jenks huffed at her, crossing his arms but not taking off from the child's palm, probably because of Rachel's sparkling eyes. Ivy mentally sighed, knowing that if Rachel figured out the proper use of puppy-dog eyes, she'd be doing anything she wanted, no question bout it.

Ivy heard footsteps coming up the steps outside, then heard the person knock on the door. A beat passed, then she heard the door open.

"Jenks?" Ceri called. "Ivy? Rachel?"

"In here, Ceri!" Jenks hollered. He took off towards the hall to lead her in. staying seated on the couch, Ivy looked at Rachel. "Do you remember Ceri, Rachel?" At the girl's nod, Ivy added, "She's going to figure out what did this to you."

Jenks flew back in, with Ceri following close behind. "Hello Ivy," the fair elf greeted her. Her step faltered, and she blinked when she saw Rachel, snuggled into Ivy's front. "Is that really… Rachel?" She drifted closer and bent her head to look at her better.

"Ceri," Rachel spouted out happily, waving a hand at her.

"And she still knows who I am?" she asked, still addressing Ivy.

"Yeah," Rachel piped up before Ivy could answer, clearly wondering why Ceri wasn't talking to her. "You were Al's 'miliar," she said, trying to prove that she still remembered who the elf was. "An you were in the never after. 'N you're like Twent."

Ceri eyed her with a perplexed look on her face. Ivy's brow furrowed in confusion to match her expression. "Is that bad?"

"Well, I'm not quite sure, but it is certainly unusual." Ceri seated herself in the chair across from them and Jenks landed on the coffee table. "I've never seen or done this curse before, but I have heard of it. The thing is that it's supposed to reduce you back to however you were at that age. So the only memories Rachel should have are the ones of her 3-year-old self. Everything should be reset back the way it was. The genetic modifications she received from Trenton's father should be undone, but clearly, she is not suffering from a deadly blood disease. She's… fine."

Rachel had her head cocked to the side, listening hard. "So can you reverse it?" Jenks asked hopefully, "Can you change her back?"

Ceri hesitated. "The reason why this curse is so rare is because it is extremely difficult. The last time I heard of it was at least 700 years ago, and I think that while the familiar successfully twisted it, I do remember something about it backfiring and shrinking him down until he disappeared from existence."

Everyone turned to Rachel, who had given up on trying to follow the conversation and was once again completely absorbed with Ivy's fingers, her head resting on Ivy's shoulder.

"So-so you won't do it." Ivy whispered brokenly. She knew that if it was that dangerous, then of course Ceri wouldn't risk it. She rested her head against Rachel's and closed her eyes to stop the tears. Yes, it was fun having Rachel as a little kid, but she wanted her witch back to normal. Ceri had been the only one with the possibility of reversing it, and she couldn't do it.

Taking a deep breath, she opened her eyes and looked at the elf. "Are…are you sure there is no other way?"

"Well," Ceri started, rubbing her forehead with an expression of concentration on her face. "As a last resort, we could ask Al if he knows something."

"As a… last resort?" Ivy repeated slowly.

"Yes." Ceri nodded firmly. "I'm going to try and see if I can twist it. If I do some research, I'm sure I can find some way to guarantee that nothing will happen to me. Or Rachel." She added as an afterthought. "I don't want to make this worse."

Ivy's heart rose, and she could have hugged her. On the coffee table, Jenks whooped and launched himself into the air. "Ya hear that! She's gonna do it! We're gonna get Rache back!"

Ivy hugged the girl close, her shoulders sagging in relief. Usually she didn't get so optimistic when they hadn't actually accomplished anything yet, but she had to believe they could do it, for her sake as well as Rachel's. And anyways, she knew that they were good, and maybe the witch was starting to rub off on her.

Rachel looked up and smiled at her, looking like she was trying to figure out why she was on the verge of crying and Jenks was yelling like a madman over her head.

Ceri gracefully stood up. "I shall begin immediately. If you don't mind, I'm going to take some of Rachel's demon texts with me, there might be something there." She nodded at them, then walked towards the kitchen, ignoring the pixy children starting to swarm around her head.

Ivy placed Rachel on the cushion next to her, then stood up, stretching her arms above her head. She looked back down and saw that Rachel was making noises and holding her hand up towards Ivy again. Ivy picked her up, smiling at her earnest expression. She never would have pegged Rachel for a clingy child, but she'd barely let her go since she turned little. Ivy bounced Rachel in her arms, wondering if she would be this clingy with anyone else, or if it was just her.

Ceri walked past the doorway, arms laden with thick textbooks, a stream of pixies flying ahead to open the door. "Hey Ceri?" she called out to her, and the elf stuck her head back through the doorway.

"Yes?"

"I know you're going to talk to Quen and Trent, but don't tell them _all_ the details, alright?" Ceri paused, then nodded. Jenks flew back in.

"She's right, we don't want any of the bad guys finding out about our little red-headed problem here and getting any ideas while she's vulnerable." Ceri nodded again and vanished out the doorway. Ivy heard the pixies squeal, then the door slammed shut.

Ivy looked at Rachel speculatively, and seeing her expression, Jenks flew over to hover around her head. "What?"

"Do you think Rachel can still do her magic?" she mused.

"I dunno." He answered. "If she can, I hope she remembers how to control it, 'cause I've seen witch kids messing with their magic before they know how, and Tink's panties, it is not pretty."

"What about it Rachel? Do you know how to do ley line magic?" Rachel looked up.

"Magic," she repeated wonderingly. Then her brow furrowed in confusion. "How-how… I have magic, right Ivy?"

"Yeah Rachel, you're a witch." Ivy reminded her cautiously. The frown stayed of the girl's face, and Ivy gently poked her with her finger. "What's wrong?"

"I has magic," she started slowly, "I always has magic. But I cand use it. I can't 'member how to use is. How come I can'd remember how to use it?"

"I don't know Rachel."

"But don't go trying any of those ley line spells if they suddenly pop into your head, you got that Rache?" Jenks said. Rachel nodded. "Who knows what you'll do to us," he added under his breath.

Ivy took a deep breath and pushed all thoughts of worry out of her mind. "Never mind, Jenks," she said. "I'm sure it'll be fine. We're safe from earth charms, all we have to do is keep her away from the spelling supplies, and she doesn't know how to use ley line magic. We'll be fine."

Then she paused and looked at Rachel, unsure of what to do next. She didn't know much about 3 year olds except that they needed naps, and she figured she'd just put Rachel down whenever she got tired. "Umm… are you – hungry?" she tried. Rachel perked up and nodded vigorously. "Okay. Let's get some food" she said, relieved. She could do food.

Jenks laughed at her again. "Well, seeing as you've got this _all_ under control, I'm gonna go tell Matalina and the kids about your latest _adventure_." He flew out the window, laughter trailing after him.

Ivy carried Rachel into the kitchen, and not seeing any baby-proof spot to put her down, she carried the child into the pantry with her. Grabbing a box of crackers, she walked back out and went over to the table. Putting the box down, she knelt and put Rachel on the floor.

"Just sit still for a minute, okay Rachel?" Rachel nodded up at her, clapping her hands. Ivy sighed and stood up, grabbing an apple and moving to the counter. She took a plastic bowl out of the cupboard and cut the apple into tiny squares, then washed the knife.

She paused as she was putting it away. Casting a sidelong glance at Rachel, she opened the utensil drawer and took out everything that was remotely sharp or pointy, placing them up in a cupboard, way above Rachel's reach.

Ivy turned around, then lunged forwards to catch Rachel before she fell off the table. The girl was trying to climb up the table leg, reaching for the box of crackers. When Rachel realized that Ivy was holding her, she grinned, completely ignoring her near fall.

"Ivy! Cwackers!" she waved her hands gleefully in the direction of the box. Ivy exhaled. "Don't – don't do that again, Rachel. You could get hurt. You hear me?" Rachel nodded along, still reaching for the box, and Ivy sighed. She gave her the box, then picked up the bowl of apples and walked into the sanctuary. It was safer for her there. More pillows.

She placed Rachel of the floor, the food in front of her on the coffee table. Just as she straightened up, the doorbell rang, and Ivy almost groaned. Rachel looked up at her with wide eyes, munching on an apple.

"Stay here," she said firmly, and with one last look at the girl shoving crackers in her mouth, she moved to the hall. She opened the door, recognizing the visitor as David before she saw him. The Were was in his insurance suit, and Ivy wondered what he was doing here if he was working.

"Uh, hey Ivy," he greeted her.

"Hey David." She looked at him, silently asking why he was here.

"Rachel was supposed to call me after your run with some information on a claim I'm working on, and when she didn't I figured I'd better stop by and make sure nothing had – happened…" He faltered and he blinked, staring at her feet. Looking down, Ivy saw that Rachel had toddled over from the sanctuary and was peeking her head through Ivy's legs, smiling up at David with a handful of crackers. She pushed past Ivy and gave one of David's legs a hug.

"Hi David!"

"Uh…hello," he answered hesitantly, his gaze alternating between Rachel and Ivy.

Ivy gave him a sheepish look. "Would you like to come in? I don't really want too many people to see Rachel."

"Rachel," he repeated faintly, slowly kneeling down to look at the girl. Rachel grinned in delight finding that he was now at her level, and wrapped her arms around his neck.

"Wolfie."

"Yeah, sure," he answered Ivy, "I'll come in."

He stood up, now awkwardly carrying Rachel, and Ivy stepped aside to let him pass, getting the impression that David didn't spend to much time around little children either. He walked into the sanctuary and she followed him, shutting the door. He was sitting on the couch, Rachel on top of him, and Ivy took the seat across from them. David looked at her expectantly, his hands unconsciously accepting the cracker Rachel offered him.

Ivy quickly summarized what had happened, and he sighed. "Only Rachel. This would only happen to Rachel." Ivy agreed.

"Ceri's trying to figure out how to reverse it."

"And of course it's a demon curse. Anything else would just be too easy to fix, wouldn't it."

When Rachel tried squirming out of his lap, he picked her up and put her on the floor, just a little bit relieved. She toddled to the table and picked up her apples, her legs getting tangled in the overly-large shirt she was wearing. She then tried to climb onto Ivy, and Ivy prevented her from tipping out the apples by grabbing the bowl from her and pulled her up onto her lap. Rachel settled herself in, the offered her an apple.

"So we're just going to keep her until she's back to normal?"

"I guess so. I have to go shopping though, get her some actual clothes, at the very least. I don't want too many people finding out about this though. Um… are you – busy now?"

David realized what she was getting at. "I'd be glad to help. I have an appointment at 5, but I guess I can stay here and watch her until then. If anyone asks, I just decided to do my paperwork here instead of back at the office."

"Thank you," she said gratefully. She stood up and put Rachel on the floor, not too surprised when the girl wrapped one arm around her leg. "For, well, essentially you're babysitting."

David grunted at her as he stood up and took off his jacket and hat. "I can't be that bad, right? I mean, you said she's still an adult, just in a little body."

Ivy held up a finger as she pried Rachel off her leg with her other arm and held her out to David. "Yeah, sort of. She acts like a child. Exactly like a child." She let go of Rachel and walked into the hall to grab her purse and jacket, and David followed, now starting to look a little worried. "I should be back in an hour, maybe a bit more."

"I don't really know how to take care of a kid," he reminded her, somewhat urgently. Ivy shrugged at him.

"I don't really know how to take care of a kid." She grabbed Rachel's car keys and put a hand on the door, wanting to get out before Rachel realized she was leaving. The girl was already looking at her, a pensive expression on her face. She let out a questioning little sound, and Ivy's breath caught. She spotted tears forming in the child's eyes, and she knew she would never be able to leave if they started falling.

"Just – watch her, okay David? She tries to climb on things." She opened the door, and looked back at Rachel. "I'm coming back," she reassured her. "I promised, remember?"

Rachel gave her a watery smile, and Ivy looked back at David. "I'm serious David, you have to watch her. Don't let her hurt herself."

David nodded, and Ivy let out a breath. She was being silly. It was more dangerous for Rachel to go to the grocery store, but she also knew that the witch would never run out of ways to get into trouble, even in her own house. But David would watch her. He cared about her too.

"I'll be back soon," she promised again, then stepped outside and closed the door behind her. She walked over to Rachel's car and got in, mentally making a list of things she would need to get and the places she would need to hit, mapping out the best route.

* * *

><p>She pulled back into the drive exactly 58 minutes later, car piled with bags. Getting out, she gathered them into her arms, careful not to tip them. Walking up the steps, she paused, realizing she couldn't open the door without kicking it down, and that would probably take some effort, not to mention she didn't really want to destroy their front door.<p>

There was no graceful way to put the bags down, so she leaned forward and hit the doorbell with her elbow, extremely thankful for her vampire abilities.

She heard hurried footsteps approach the door, and it was thrown open to reveal a harried looking David, holding a happily shrieking Rachel over his shoulder.

Ivy looked him over, amusement playing over his features. He had rolled up his sleeves, his shirt had come untucked, his hair was sticking up, and he wasn't even bothering to try and hide the desperate expression on his face. He shrugged helplessly at her and grabbed the top two bags with his free hand, stepping back so she could come in.

She raised an eyebrow at the mess she found in the sanctuary. There were crushed cracker bits all over the floor, and the pillows were strewn everywhere. Easily fixable, but still.

She bent and let the bags drop onto the sofa, then turned and looked at David with her arms crossed. "It was her fault!" he said defensively, holding Rachel out to Ivy.

"Ivy!" she cried happily, waving her arms at her. Ivy took the squealing child from David.

"So this is all your fault." Rachel just grinned cheekily at her. Ivy sighed. "Well, thanks David."

He shook his head. "That girl is a handful. I thought she was trouble enough before. The only difference now is that she can't leave the house and we don't have to go chasing her across the city to get her out of trouble."

Jenks buzzed in. "Tink's a Disney whore, it's good to see you Ivy." Ivy hoisted Rachel higher and looked at him questioningly. "My god, that girl has a set of lungs on her. She has not stopped shrieking since you left. Chased all of my kids outside. First she was crying, then David managed to calm her down, and then a whole other racket began. That," he pointed to the witch in question, "is the quietest she's been in an hour."

Rachel just smiled sweetly up at her from her shoulder and Ivy looked back, amusement glinting in her eyes. "Sure, now she looks like an angel," he grumbled, going to land on the biggest bag David had thunked onto the floor. "So what'd you get?"

"Well, that one," she indicated the one under his feet, "is a playpen, one I'm sure will be very helpful in keeping her in one place. The rest are all just clothes, some toys…"

"All of this? That's all you bought?"

"Well, there's a lot of stuff for a kid. There's a bunch of different things they use, and a surprising amount of it is to get them to calm down or fall asleep, surprisingly."

"Uh huh," David picked up his jacket and brushed off the cracker crumbs. "Well, if you don't need me, no offense Rachel, but I've had enough of babysitting for quite awhile."

"Oh, of course." Ivy nodded at him, "thank you, David."

David bowed his head, "I'd say anytime, but please try and keep it to a minimum. But if you do need some help, just give me a call." Ivy nodded, a smile playing on her lips, and he walked out.

She smiled, looking down at Rachel. "Well, since it sounds like you were so busy while I was gone, please tell me you're…" Rachel was asleep against her shoulder, and Ivy finished, "-tired." She smoothed the hair back from her face. "Perfect timing, Rachel," she whispered.

**A/N: So I just wanted to thank everyone who's reading this, and say that if there is something you really want to see happen, just tell me and I can try to fit it into the story. I'm not quite sure where this is going yet, so Ivy and Rachel can take a few detours.**


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: And I know this isn't exact with the timeline, but Rachel is already taking lessons from Al every week.**

Ivy sat back on her heels, observing the fully assembled playpen in the corner of the sanctuary. Shooting a glance at Rachel asleep on the floor surrounded by pillows – again, it was safer – Ivy got to her feet and stretched. She had opted not to buy a crib, seeing as the cheapest one that met her standards was ridiculously priced, especially since she didn't think they'd be using it for that long. Because of this, the playpen would serve as Rachel's bed, along with her occasional holding cell.

She went to put Rachel into the pen, then picked up the bags containing groceries and brought them to the kitchen. Setting them on the counter, she started sorting them into piles, stuff to go in the food, and different sections of the pantry. She never thought she'd be buying baby food, or little animal crackers for that matter. Juice boxes in the fridge, high chair next to the counter, kid-friendly silverware into the cupboards…

When everything was put away, Ivy went back to the sanctuary. Pausing in the doorway, she crossed her arms and leaned against the wall, taking in the sight before her.

She had cleaned up all off the food on the floor, but most of the pillows were still scattered. In addition to that, there were toys on the floor, and a couple of stuffed animals on the couch, with bags and opened boxes all over the place. Rachel had had a field day opening those when the phone had woken her up. Although it was Ivy's theory that it had been Erica's scream that had done it, right after Ivy had informed her that Rachel was a child.

Erica had babbled on and on about how she loved kids, completely unconcerned that her sister's partner was about 23 years younger than she was supposed to be. Quickly, Ivy hung up on her, saying that she had to go, and if she didn't go and watch Rachel now that she was awake, the witch would probably figure out how to strangle herself with a shopping bag.

Jenks buzzed over to her from wherever he'd been. "Looks really domestic, doesn't it?" Ivy had to agree. She had never imagined her home would look like one of the houses in the suburbs where 3 kids and a soccer mom lived. Though she supposed there wasn't enough stuff – or damage – for there to be 3 kids living here.

Jenks looked at her appraisingly. "You know, I think you're good here, with this kind of stuff." With a snort, she waved the comment off, dismissing it.

"I'm just glad she already knows me. I have a feeling that if Rachel doesn't like you, it wouldn't be too easy to watch her. She does like pissing people off."

"Nah, she'd never do anything to purposely piss you off, not seriously anyways." Ivy looked at him, and he continued talking, ignoring her. "At least there are no runs to cancel in the next few days."

"Do you think we'll be able to fix this before Saturday? Al should let her off, but I still don't trust him."

"I guess we'll have to see if Ceri's found anything."

Right on cue, the doorbell rang and they heard the elf let herself into the church. At the same time, Rachel woke up and waved sleepily at them. She started reaching for something outside of the playpen, and Ivy wasn't sure if it was her she wanted or the stuffed fish lying on the floor.

Crossing the room, she picked up the fish and reached in to lift the witch out. Rachel settled herself in, once again shocking Ivy with the familiarity in which she did it.

Gently bouncing her up and down, Ivy walked into the hall to hear the last of what Ceri was telling Jenks. "…sorry I couldn't find anything, and it looks unlikely that I will make any headway tonight. I'll keep looking though."

After Ceri left, Ivy wandered back to the sanctuary. By then it was nearing 11 o'clock, and since Rachel had just woken up from her nap, she wasn't tired. Ivy set her down on the couch. The girl looked up at her expectantly, still clutching her fish.

"So… now what?" Ivy turned to Jenks and shrugged.

She knelt in front of Rachel. "Is there…something you want to do now?" Rachel just smiled at her and raised one shoulder.

"Nuh know. You pick."

The vampire looked helplessly at Jenks, and he raised his hands. "Don't look at me."

"Well, you are the parent in the room. How do you entertain a little kid?"

"In case you haven't noticed, my kids are kind of good at entertaining themselves. And it's not like I can go tell Rache to go scare the mice out of the attic, or go chase the bugs eating at the garden. "

"Well, _I_ don't know what to do. It's too dark outside, or else I'd take her to the park or something."

"You bought her all those toys, why don't you go play with her."

She opened her mouth to answer, but he grinned and flew out before she could say anything. Rachel's eyes followed him, then she turned back to Ivy, waiting.

Ivy took a deep breath. "Okay then." She picked Rachel up and sat her down amidst all the half opened boxes. "Take your pick Rachel."

Rachel pushed herself up and toddled over to where Ivy was sitting cross-legged on the floor and put her fish in her lap, making sure that Ivy got it. Then she went to each box, examining them carefully before coming back with a remote controlled car. She handed it to Ivy, saying, " 'pen it, Ivy." When Ivy obligingly started tearing open the package, Rachel turned around to grab something else.

Ivy looked up and laughed. The girl was dragging over a bucket of building blocks almost as big as she was, and probably twice as heavy.

Looking over to make sure that Ivy was opening her car, she turned back and tipped the bucket over, causing the blocks to spill out in a clatter. Ivy blinked, and Rachel giggled and clapped her hands, then sat down and started stacking them on top of each other.

Ivy got the car working, but by then Rachel had already forgotten about it, so she placed it and the remote to the side. She sat there, unsure of what to do. Rachel looked up from her admittedly crooked tower and said, "Come Vee!" Ivy inched closer, and Rachel pushed some blocks towards her. "We're gonna make a city! A big city, even bigger den Cinaddi!"

Ivy smiled at her and settled herself comfortably on the ground. "Even bigger then Cincinnati? Well then, I guess we'd better get to work!" Rachel nodded enthusiastically.

"Uh huh! An' you're gonna help me make the really really big ones! Like…"

Rachel told her all about her city, and Ivy found herself completely drawn into her excitement.

_There's nothing like a little kid playing a simple game,_ she mused, helping Rachel build her make believe city, _it's so pure, so different._ Ivy couldn't remember the last time she'd felt like this, laughing just as heartily as Rachel as the girl knocked over a tower.

Eventually, Rachel started to tire, and after she yawned for the third time Ivy smiled at her. "Okay, it's time for bed now Rachel."

Rachel looked at her pleadingly. "Aww." She looked at the blocks, then at Ivy. "Five more minutes?" she asked hopefully.

"Fine," Ivy consented, still in a playful mood, "but I'm going to start cleaning up the ones over there." There were almost a dozen towers and clumps of blocks, but there were even more scattered around the edges of the room. She moved towards them.

"Hey Rachel, watch your head!" she called out. She waited for Rachel to turn towards her questioningly, and then threw the block she was holding in her hand, watching it land in the bucket with a solid thunk. Rachel clapped her hands delightedly. "Again, again!"

That was how 5 minutes turned into 30, with Ivy tossing blocks into the bucket and Rachel attempting to copy her. After Rachel figured out that her aim was pretty bad and that Ivy wouldn't miss the bucket, even sitting down half way across the room, it turned into a game to see how many Rachel could stop her from throwing properly.

When Ivy finally got them all in – it was harder aiming for the bucket when you had a shrieking child jumping around and waving her arms directly in front of you than it looked – she was pleasantly surprised at how much she had enjoyed herself.

She got Rachel ready for bed, then set her into the play pen with her fish and a Tweety Bird blanket, once again surrounded with pillows. Rachel looked up at her.

The vampire shifted from foot to foot, nervous about leaving the witch alone, even just for the night. "You're gonna sleep here, okay?" _She is a fully grown woman, not a child, and she'll be fine. It's not like she hasn't done this tons of times before._

Rachel patted one of the pillows and nodded. "Okay." She yawned again. "'Night Ivy."

"Goodnight Rachel." She looked back before she closed all the lights and saw Rachel was already lying down with her eyes closed, wrapped in her blanket. She felt herself smile again, then she went to her own room.

* * *

><p>Ivy awoke with a start, instinctively knowing that it was way too early for her to be up yet even though her thick curtains prevented the sunlight from entering her room. She blinked, not understanding why she was awake, and why did it sound like there was a crying baby in the church?<p>

Ivy's eyes widened as she remembered what had happened the day before and threw off her covers, quickly opening the door and hurrying to Rachel, the source of the crying.

"Hey, hey, are you alright? Is something wrong?" She picked up the girl, trying to look her over in the soft light of the lamp. Rachel cried again and latched onto Ivy. The vampire couldn't understand what she was trying to say, but after realizing she wasn't hurt, she sat on the couch and tried to calm her down.

Eventually, she got the general picture of what had happened. Something had scared Rachel (Ivy wasn't sure if it was something real or just something in her dream), and the girl had been calling for her, and gotten frightened when she didn't come. "You din't come, Ivy," she sniffed, and Ivy hugged her closer.

"I'm sorry Rachel, I couldn't hear you, I was asleep. You know I would've come if I'd heard you calling." She continued to rock her back and forth rubbing her back soothingly, and she began to calm down. Looking at the clock, Ivy saw that it was only 7:38 am. She bit back a groan. Why was it so early?

"Hey," she said gently, and Rachel lifted her head off her shoulder and looked at her. Ivy wiped away the remaining tears and smiled. "You okay now?" Rachel nodded. "Do you think you can go back to bed?"

Rachel glanced over to the playpen and Ivy mentally crossed her fingers. She _really _wanted to go back to sleep.

"I wanna stay with you," Rachel told her, looking at her with huge green eyes. Ivy debated for a moment.

"Okay. Do you want to come sleep with me in my bed then?" Rachel thought about it and nodded, once again laying her head on her shoulder, her eyes already starting to droop. Ivy got up and started walking towards the hall, when Rachel tugged on her hair a bit to get her attention.

"Fishy," she mumbled, pointing at the playpen. Ivy smiled and retrieved the fish for her, then continued down the hall. Pushing open her door, Ivy chuckled. Looks like she had finally gotten the witch into her bed. Shaking her head at herself, Ivy flicked on her lamp so Rachel could see.

She put her down, and the girl immediately snuggled in between the covers, humming happily. Ivy sat on the edge of her bed. "I'm going to shut the lamp off, okay?"

"Wait," Rachel climbed into her lap, wrapping her arms around her. "Okay." Ivy softened again, turning off the lamp and lying down, Rachel curling up on top of her like a cat. With one hand running through her hair, the witch was asleep within minutes. Ivy eyes closed as well, the soft body once again lulling her to sleep.

* * *

><p>This time, Ivy awoke to the bed shaking under her. Before she had time to panic, Rachel's voice filtered into her half-asleep consciousness. "Wake up, wake up, wake up,"<p>

Ivy's eyes cracked open to see the child bouncing on the bed in time with her words. When she saw Ivy was awake, a grin split across her face, giving Ivy just enough warning to brace herself for the impact of a three year old body landing on her. "Oof," she huffed. "Good morning to you too." Rachel giggled and hugged her harder.

"Good morning Ivy!" Ivy smiled and sat up, ruffling her hair. Ivy usually stayed in bed for awhile after she woke up, but Rachel had already jumped off the bed and was reaching for the door handle. Ivy got up and grabbed her robe as Rachel got the door open, looking back triumphantly before running off down the hall. Ivy laughed and followed her.

She realized that she had been smiling pretty much ever since yesterday. That was new. Walking into the kitchen, she headed straight for the coffee maker. When she got a pot started, she turned around and quickly stopped Rachel in her reaching for the fridge, picking her up instead. "So what do you want for breakfast?"

"Waffle!"

Ivy nodded. "Waffles it is, then." She put Rachel on the floor, and when the witch just stood there and fidgeted, looking up at her, she thought for a moment. "I know," she started, crouching down to her level, "Why don't you go pick out a movie for us to watch while we're eating?" Rachel nodded enthusiastically, clapping her hands and running out.

Ivy stood up and stretched, glad she still had some notion of what she was supposed to be doing. She took two waffles and put them in the toaster, then heard a loud thump from the sanctuary. Hurrying over, she saw that Rachel was trying to move the big box they kept under the TV with most of their movies. Rachel wasn't hurt, just struggling to open the box that was easily 3 times her size.

Ivy sighed and popped the lid off for her. She had to remember that Rachel doesn't really stop if something looks like it could be difficult. Leaving Rachel pawing through the box, she went back to the kitchen and came back with her coffee and four waffles on a plate – two for Rachel, two for her – with some napkins to clean up whatever mess Rachel managed to make.

She set everything down on the coffee table, then looked up to see the child waving around a video cassette, one of the witch's old movies that her mom had dropped off for her. "Which one you got there?"

"The Wion King." Rachel came over to show her, standing on her tiptoes and stretching out to show her the brightly colored box with the cartoon lions on it. Ivy accepted it and looked it over. "Well this is old. Haven't watched a tape in a while, it's a good thing I kept the VCR." Rachel nodded in agreement, and Ivy went to put it in the machine.

When she turned around, Rachel was gone. "Rachel?" She wasn't in the room. Ivy covered her face with her hands and groaned. "Why?" she asked the ceiling, and anyone who happened to be listening. She hurried into the hall, trying to listen for the child. How did humans do this without any special abilities that came from being an Inderlander?

She heard a noise from her room, and hurried to check it out. Her tension eased when she saw Rachel climbing onto her bed. "Rachel," she complained lightly. Rachel looked at her.

"Want Fishy, Ivy," she said, pointing at the fish lying forgotten among Ivy's pillows.

Ivy sighed, picking up Rachel and the fish both. "Here you go." They walked back to the sanctuary. "I have really got to keep an eye on you at all times."

They settled onto the couch and Ivy handed Rachel a waffle, pressing play with the remote. The Disney castle lit up the screen, and Rachel was transfixed. Ivy was happy to munch on her waffles, highly amused when it turned out that Rachel knew all the words to the songs.

Right in the middle of Hakuna Matata, the doorbell rang, and as Ivy untangled herself from the child who evidently thought she was part sofa, the door opened and she knew it was Ceri. "In here Ceri!" she called.

The elf entered, "Good morning Ivy, Rachel." Rachel waved at her, still mostly focused on the movie. "Ivy, would you mind lending me Rachel's car? I wish to go look through Trenton's library, he has some rare books there that might be of use." Ivy looked down at Rachel, and when the girl nodded, she got up to hand her the key.

"Sure. You can drive now right?"

"Yes. Quen has taught me." She accepted the key. "Thank you. I will have it back by nightfall." Ivy nodded and walked her out before returning to the movie.

After the movie finished, she decided it was probably time to change, and get Rachel changed too. Jenks, who had flown in for the end of the movie, told her it was nice outside, why not let Rachel play in the backyard. Just as Ivy agreed, three pixies flew in shrieking, and Ivy winced. They were speaking too fast for Ivy to understand what they were saying, but their tone was urgent.

Jenks flew up higher, dusting heavily. "Good job. Go back out there and help the others watch them." They flew out, and Jenks turned to Ivy. "My kids just caught two stupid lunkers trying to get in the house. Luckily, a couple of my kids were awake to sound the alarm, or they probably would have gotten in.

Ivy sat up straight. "What?"

"They're asleep in the garden, my kids dusted them."

Ivy jumped up. "Get your kids to keep watching them. I'll be out in five minutes."

Jenks nodded and flew out the window, and she hurried to her room, quickly changing into some clothes. She put Rachel on her bed. "Stay here Rachel, okay?" Rachel nodded, clearly understanding something was happening. "Just don't move, don't leave this room. I'll be right back." She shut the door behind her, praying that Rachel listened this time, and hurried out to the backyard.

Two men were sitting tied up to the fence, and Ivy's eyes widened at the sight of the knots, impressed at how the pixies secured them.

When Ivy approached them, their eyes widened. "Wha? You're supposed to be gone!" one said. "Yeah! The car's not here, and your cycle's in the shop!" the other agreed. They weren't supposed to know that. Ivy felt her eyes blacken, and they both shrank back.

"Listen here, Twiddle Dumb and Twiddle Dumber, you just attacked my house. Not the best thing you could have done. So why don't you both tell me what it is you want, and maybe you'll be able to walk out of here, hmm?"

"We don't know nothin'!" Dumber cried out instantly.

"Yeah! Some guy just said 'Wait 'til the red car's gone, 'cause that means the vamp's not home, then go and snatch the girl.' Then I said 'what if the vamp takes the girl with her?' then he said 'she won't, she knows it ain't smart to let other people know about her' and I said 'why? It's just a little girl' and he said 'it doesn't matter why' and-"

"All right!" Ivy shouted, rubbing her temples. Clearly they were no threat, and the stupid looks on their faces told her they weren't faking it. They were classic stupid henchmen.

She turned to Jenks, hovering by her shoulder. "What do you think?"

"I think these guys wouldn't know a fairy's fart from a flower. They're not worth anything. I say we just douse them with one of Rache's forget potions and let them go."

Ivy nodded, and with another look at the idiots, she walked into the kitchen, Jenks right behind her.

"We got this Ivy, why don't you go check on Rache, maybe she knows who they were or why they were after her. You know no one ever tries to invade us unless they're after her," he said whistling for two of his kids.

"Not to mention that someone knows she's a kid. I'm willing to bet that whoever hired these dumb asses probably had something to do with the witch who did this to her in the first place," she added.

As the three pixies worked together to get the vial down off the shelf, she turned and hurried to her room, immensely relieved to find Rachel still there, even if the witch had managed to pull all the covers off her bed and had made some kind of fort on the floor. "Hey Rachel," she said kneeling down.

"Hi Ivy! Whas wrong?" Ivy sat down and crossed her legs.

"There were these two guys trying to get in, they said they were after you. Not very bright. And they knew who you were. Any ideas?"

Rachel's eyebrows scrunched together as she thought. Once again, she had climbed onto Ivy as soon as she was within reach, and Ivy curved an arm around her protectively. "Nuh uh," Rachel shook her head. "Dunno."

Ivy sighed, "Oh well. They weren't a threat, I'm just worried about where they got their intel. Somebody knows about you." Rachel shrugged and tucked her head into her shoulder, idly playing with her hair again, not seeming to be worried in the slightest.

"But don't worry," Ivy mumbled, more to herself than to the witch, "We'll get them first. I'll always protect you, Rachel. For as long as I can."

* * *

><p>Elsewhere, the two men she had dubbed Twiddle Dumb and Twiddle Dumber screamed and vanished with a puff of burnt amber scented smoke. The remaining person in the room closed his fist. "Well," he mused, "I guess I'll have to hire somebody competent this time. Those two couldn't even snatch a defenseless little girl. I'll just try again tomorrow then."<p> 


	4. Chapter 4

**So sorry about the wait! To anybody who will read this anyways. My computer crashed, and I lost this, and I just didn't have time to fix everything. Anyways, here is the next part. I'll post the next part as soon as these weeks from hell are over, I just have to get through my exams.  
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An hour ago, Erica had shown up at the church practically begging Ivy to let her play with Rachel. Now Ivy was sitting in the kitchen on her laptop, and was becoming mildly concerned with the sounds she was hearing from the sanctuary.

Erica, Rachel, and all the pixies were in there, and though Ivy did trust her sister, she was still checking on them every 20 minutes. It was much too chaotic for her to stay out here.

Just as she was got out of her chair to go check on them again, Rachel came tumbling into the room, right into her legs, with Erica right behind her.

"Erica?" Ivy asked, reaching down to steady the child on her own feet.

"Hi Ivy!" the redhead started with a big smile. Erica laughed.

"Man, that girl can move _fast_, can't she? She's just all over the place!" She continued on, chattering about this and that, and Ivy kept listening with one ear, following Rachel as she ran around the room. When the witch veered sharply to the left, sliding in her socks and narrowly missing the wall, Ivy grabbed her. She swung her up into her arms, surprised when the child kept squirming, bouncing up and down. Rachel usually calmed down when she picked her up.

"What did you do to her?" she asked, cutting off her sister.

"Hmm? Oh, nothing. We were playing, that's all. Little kids are _so_ much fun. Oh! And I think she might be having a teensy little sugar rush. I had some candy in my purse and gave her some. You know the really good sour ones? We had them that one time when you took me to the movies? That one about the spy who…" Tuning out her commentary on the entire movie, Ivy concentrated on Rachel, tightening her hold on her when she almost managed to squirm out of her arms.

"A sugar rush," she repeated, guessing that was probably like normal Rachel without sleep for two days, on 19 cups of coffee.

Just then, Rachel wiggled right out of her arms and somehow clambered onto her back like a monkey. Ivy quickly adjusted her grip, now holding her in a piggyback ride. Oh, this was going to be fun.

* * *

><p>Ivy let herself fall onto the couch, mentally exhausted. Erica had left an hour ago to meet her friends once it looked like Rachel's sugar rush was winding down. Turn take it, that witch had a lot of energy.<p>

Rachel was asleep in the playpen, and Ivy was never letting her get her hands on candy again.

Jenks buzzed back into the room. "Is it over yet?"

"Yeah," Ivy indicated the slumbering child. "She finally fell asleep."

Ivy got back to her feet and set about cleaning up the church, listening for any signs of Rachel waking up, chatting with Jenks all the way. When she heard the witch start moving again, she returned to the sanctuary to find her standing up in the playpen, a bright smile on her face.

When Ivy noticed her lightly bouncing on her feet, she sighed and picked her up, bouncing her in her arms. "Still a bit hyper, huh?" Rachel's grin widened. "Well, how about we go and visit the pixies in the garden, hmm?"

She brought her into the kitchen to the back door, getting the pair of baby converse she had bought. After helping her lace them up, they went out to the back. The pixies hovered around, cautiously flying closer to Rachel, checking over the tiny girl. Ivy sat on a lawn chair and let her run around, burning off her excess energy. The pixies were keeping her amused, and while she kept one eye on her, she let herself relax. Shrieks of delight filled the garden, and Ivy smiled, letting the time pass.

Suddenly, a pixy came darting over to Ivy and Jenks, frantically yelling and waving his arms. Jenks shot up and let out a piercing whistle, shouting commands, and the pixies flew into motion, all thoughts of whatever game they were playing with Rachel gone. They were moving so fast that Ivy was losing track of them. She had shot to her feet with Jenks as adrenaline flooded her body, frantically trying to piece together what the danger was. She hated it when the pixies were agitated, she could never understand what they were saying.

"Jenks?" she asked, her eyes scanning the yard for threats. _And Rachel_, she realized a moment later. She had to find Rachel. She couldn't defend herself with magic like she usually could.

"Invaders!" Jenks yelled back to her, flying away with his sword already drawn. "Witches!" and he was gone.

There was a blast of light near the gate, and somebody yelled. Ivy instinctively ran and took cover behind a tree, knowing from experience that when witches were involved, it was better to duck first, attack later, instead of getting hit with some unknown spell.

Looking behind her, she spotted Rachel cowering behind the porch. As Ivy watched, she burrowed into the hedge, concealing herself from view. _Smart girl_. Nobody would find her without a locater spell amongst the fight, and they wouldn't have time to use one. _Whatever it takes,_ she thought fiercely, trying to spot the invaders, ducking as another blast blew her hair back.

_Geez, for people packing spells, their aim really sucks,_ she thought, peeking out again.

_They didn't do their homework either,_ seeing a tall man trying to swat at the pixies swarming around him. He'd never be able to hit them. She would have laughed, except he was attacking her home. Never smart. _Men. _She was sensing a pattern here. _Good thing whoever this is didn't send a woman. I bet she'd be smarter._

Craning her neck a bit farther, she saw another witch already subdued, covered in tiny cuts. The one still standing had some kind of protection spell thingy going on, because the pixies were finding it difficult to get close enough to reach him with their swords, although some did get through.

Seeing his back turned, she leaped at him, fangs bared. As she collided with him, she felt herself pass through some kind of barrier. It slowed her down, but was not nearly strong enough to stop her completely. It must have been what was deterring the pixies.

She knocked the man backwards and he stumbled. When he started mumbling a spell, Ivy simply smacked the side of his head, knocking him unconscious.

Just as she was going to relax, Rachel screamed behind her. Ivy tensed, whirling around and falling into a fighting stance. A third man, one she hadn't noticed – judging by Jenks' swearing, he hadn't either – had a tight grip on Rachel. The child was struggling, and he flinched when her foot connected with his shin.

Ivy tensed to spring, deadly spell be damned, when he tightened his grip on Rachel's arm and held his hand towards her. He sneered, and Rachel whimpered.

"I wouldn't do that, vampire," he threatened. Scared, Rachel tried to jerk her arm back again, straining towards Ivy. The man narrowed his eyes at her, completely ignoring Rachel's struggles.

"Let her go," Ivy said, snarling unconsciously, her body wire tight.

"Hmm," he said, pretending to think about it. "I think the answer to that will have to be… no." Ivy jerked forward to hit him, but he took a step back. "Ah ah ah," he taunted, waving a finger at her, and she slowly lowered her hands.

"You see, I have the child. I also have a ley line spell ready in my head. I say 3 words, and she stops breathing." Ivy glanced at Rachel before tearing her eyes away, forcing herself to concentrate. The girl's eyes were wide, filled with fear, and her rapid breathing marked the beginning of a terror fueled panic attack.

"And that goes for you too, pixies!"

Ivy cursed, her hope that Jenks sneaking up behind him would go unnoticed gone. "Jenks, make sure your kids don't try anything." _Don't try anything that won't work,_ she added mentally.

The man smirked at them one last time. "Well, I do regret to inform you that I will be leaving now, and I will be taking her with me." Rachel whimpered.

Ivy readied herself. She'd just have to get him before he could use the spell. He started walking away, dragging Rachel with him. "No!" Rachel cried, angrily this time. She wrenched her arm away from him, and when he reached for her again, she screamed, and he was pushed backwards.

He landed on his knees a good five feet away, shock written all over his face, an expression Ivy knew was sure to be mirrored on hers.

Rachel stood with her feet spread defiantly and her hands clenched, inside a circle. A circle she wasn't supposed to be able to make, but that was clearly hers all the same. Everyone froze, and then the man sputtered and got to his feet. "She's not supposed to have any powers!" he exclaimed. "Faoseihlo ensured it. That damn demon said-"

Not giving him a chance to recover, Ivy sprang at him, knocking him clear back to the fence. She jerked back in surprise when a ball of energy flew past her and hit the fence, narrowly missing his face. Turning, she saw Rachel's hand outstretched, already starting to glow again. She was shaking, repeating the word 'no', and looked like she was about to faint.

Ivy started back towards her, her need to protect the witch greater than anything else. Jenks went to hover around the slumped man, threatening the little cookie-maker. "You got it under control, Jenks?" she called to him. Receiving his affirmative, she turned her attention to Rachel.

The girl's heartbeat was totally uneven, and her face was deathly pale. "Rachel?" she asked cautiously, slightly worried by her still-glowing hand. "Rachel, it's okay," she told her, stopping her hand just short of touching the circle. She lowered herself down so she was level with her eyes.

"Hey," she urged her, trying to catch her eye. Hesitantly, Ivy pressed her hand against the barrier, tensing for the usual shock, but instead the barrier just wavered, nearly coming down, the circle too weak to withstand much pressure.

"Rachel, take a deep breath. Can you do that for me?"

Rachel's desperate gaze locked onto hers, and she held it, hearing Rachel struggle to take a breath. She got one, then another, and slowly she started breathing normally. Her hands stopped glowing, and she stumbled, falling right through her circle and into Ivy's arms.

Rachel's body was shaking, and she pressed her head into Ivy's neck. She let out a sigh of relief. Ivy held her tightly, slowly rocking her back and forth. Rachel started sobbing, and at that precise moment, the man against the fence yelled something. Ivy hunched over Rachel, uselessly trying to shield her from any threat, but the spell wasn't aimed at her.

All the pixies suddenly froze, and the man made a break for it. He got to the street, and then vanished, right before her eyes. "Jenks?" As soon as the man disappeared, the pixies started moving again, the air filling with curses Ivy never could have dreamed up. She turned around, seeing the other one had disappeared as well.

Rachel hadn't reacted during any of this, just crying in Ivy's arms. "Everybody okay?" Ivy called out, trying to soothe the witch.

"That bastard! Yeah, we're fine. But what in Tink's name was that? He froze us!"

Ivy heaved a sigh of relief and stood up, cradling Rachel. The little witch barely reacted, almost asleep. Ivy's guess was that the magic had taken a lot out of her. The magic her body shouldn't have been able to support.

Ceri had explained that it wasn't the lack of knowledge that prevented young witches from successfully doing magic, but the ability to channel and hold it in their bodies. Whoever was coming after Rachel probably knew that now, and they would probably start trying harder after this. But it was time to start fighting back.

* * *

><p>"Jenks, I think it's time we call Al."<p>

"What?" he exclaimed. Ivy shifted Rachel in her arms.

"That name the man said, it was demon. We need to stop whoever's doing this, and I think we need Al. He doesn't want anyone else getting Rachel either, remember?"

Jenks just scowled and crossed his arms, and Ivy grabbed the phone and dialed Trent's number.

"Yes, Rachel?" his voice came through.

"Put Ceri on."

"Oh, it's the vampire. Why should I? She's very busy going through-"

"Trent. Put. Her. On." She could hear him sneering at her through the phone.

"If you insist." She heard some shuffling, then Ceri's voice came through.

"Ivy?"

"Ceri, we need you back here. We were attacked again, and this time it almost worked. We need to call Al."

There was a pause. "I'm leaving now."

"Thank you." She hung up and turned to Jenks. "So now we wait."

"Yup." He nodded towards the child in her arms. "We sure she's okay?"

"She seems fine, but we can only be sure after she's awake and mostly coherent again." Ivy's body unconsciously curved around her. "I don't know how this is happening, Jenks. I don't know why." She heard the helplessness in her own voice and bit down on her tongue.

Jenks sighed, no judgment in his tone. "I dunno Ivy," he shook his head, "but we're going to win, you'll see. We always beat the bad guys. It's what we do."


End file.
